Gummi Candy

There’s not too much flavor variation going on during Valentine’s Day. Usually it’s all Cherry or the occasional Strrawberry since everything candy-wise is red colored this time of year. For some variation, I am giving the Brach’s Cinnamon Jelly Hearts a try.

The bag smells intensly of cinnamon and the candies are really cute. They’re hear shaped, about the circumference of a nickel and about half an inch high. They are firm to the touch and aren’t very spongy like some gummis are. These remind me much more of gumdrops.

The flavor is sweet and has a hint of heat to it on my first bite. The two kinda play in my mouth, neither gaining dominance until the end where it gets slightly hotter, but never into the “too spicy” zone. These aren’t as powerful as Red Hots thankfully, so folks like myself who can’t take “hot” candies too terribly well. Instead these are a nice mix of the intense cinnamon flavor with some sweetness to make it more friendly. The texture is nice too, as it’s a ick heavy chew wihtout being sticky. You barely notice the granulated sugar coating.

I was prepared to really not like these, as hot cinnamon candies aren’t my thing. I was surprised that I did like them. I can easily see these as cupcake toppers, as they’re gorgeous to look at. If you like cinnamon candies, I’d seek these out. It’s a great option for Valentine Day candy if you aren’t a fan of cherry.

I was visiting the Mitsuwa market in Culver City the other week, which is where I bought these fun Japanese gummis. The colorful package immediately called out to me on the shelf, but then once I saw what the flavor was, I was completely sold. Guava? Yes please! This is a fruit I fell in love with a long time ago on a family trip to Maui back when I was a wee little kid. Since then I’ve always been on the lookout for guava flavored…well, anything really. So you can imagine my happiness when guava and candy were married into this adorable little package.

They look similar to the Haribo grapefruit gummies. They’re irregular flat discs with a solid coating of sanding sugar on them. They smell extremely sweet and juicy, with notes of pineapple and passion fruit. It’s a very authentic guava aroma.

The candy is immediately fresh and juicy as soon as you pop it into your mouth. The flavor is authentic guava; juicy, sweet, tropical, with notes of peach, passion fruit and pineapple. They’re incredibly good. They have a bit of tartness to them towards the end, but the “first” part of the flavor is so good I don’t mind it at all. So yummy! The texture is nice as it’s just the right amount of chewy for a gummi, it’s neither to hard nor too soft. The texture suggests that these are relatively fresh (which sometimes with imported candy, they aren’t) so it was such a treat to find these to be supple still.

I really appreciated the novelty of this candy, since guava is such a rare flavor to find in the USA. I think it really works well in candy format, so I hope to find it around again sometime soon. I also think that this is a good way to enjoy guava if you’ve never had it before, since in many places you cannot find the fruit to try. Point being: guava is yummy, so are these gummis; so try it sometime.

SweetTarts is keeping up with their holiday offerings with these adorable Holiday Gummies. I saw these in Target in their holiday section, among dozen of other seasonal candies. I gravitate toward candies like these since as far as I know, SweetTarts doesn’t usually release gummies for the “normal” months. Therefore, these feel more unique to me than the Snickers, Kitkats, Kisses etc that come in just holiday theme packaging. It’s what’s inside that counts, guys.

The package does a wonderful job of matching the coloring scheme of SqeetTarts with the colors of the season. It’s a very attractive package to look at. The gummies come in the holiday shapes of bells, stockings, Christmas trees and stars. So very cute! I realize that Wonka is trying to be politically correct in calling these “Holiday” gummis, but it seems odd when the gummis have such blatantly Christmas iconography. Just saying.

The red gummis is bright and zesty at first, like sour cherry. It has bright “red” notes of strawberry and cherry. It’s tangy and sweet, and the flavor isn’t too metallic, although since it’s so tart it’s very “Jolly Rancher”. It’s a nice red flavor though, I could eat this one all day as opposed to others I’ve had.

The green ones start of sweet and mellow with nice juicy notes of melon. Only as you chew it does the more zesty tones and flavors of sour apple burst trhough. It’s a very juicy flavor and because of that it’s very tasty. It’s hard to top popping them into you mouth.

These were tastier than what I was expecting, and I really enjoyed them. I can see these looking really cute in a candy dish or as cupcake toppings. If your into sour gummi candies, I recommend giving these a shot.

It’s not often that I get a good sampling of candy from a foreign country. Usually you find isolated samplings of them in stores, a Haribo product here, a Cadbury product there. This only give you a small sliver of their confectionery offerings, that you hardly get a good picture of the flavor preferences of that country. Ingrid’s Candy Shop is an online store that specializes in Swedish candy, and they offered me the chance to taste what Sweden has to offer. I was super excited since I really only knew of Swedish fish and they few candies you see displayed at IKEA. I selected a few candies that sounded good to me and eagerly awaited them in the mail!

Brio frukt (look like chiclets) “Square shaped fruity candy from Malaco”: These candies look like chickets, square, colorful and shiny. The come in pastel colors of green, white, yellow and pink. The texture of these is very thick and stick, like a hardened Starburst or HiChew. The green tastes like pineapple: sweet, juicy and fresh. White is sweet and tastes of green pear with delicate juicy notes. Yellow is immediately sweet and zesty of lemon. Orange is sweet and tastes of tangerine, with a very juicy edge with a hit of zest. Pink is sweet with light floral notes and hints of berry. A very “pink” flavor. I really liked these a lot, one of my favorites in the sampling.

Gelehallon “Raspberry gelee with sprinkled sugar on top ”: They’re about the size of normal gumdrops, but they’re more vibrant and squishier. They have a nice coating of granulated sugar on them and they smell fruity. The texture is very soft and chewy, and is easy to chew. The flavor is…fruity, then it gets very bitter. It must be from all the red food coloring because it tastes very much like a cherry medicine to me. For some that’s a good thing, but for me, I’d rather not eat something that tastes like something I take when I’m sick.

Hallon lakrits skallar “This licorice head is a hybrid candy that have a mix of raspberry flavor with lakrits. Delicious sweet chewy candy!”: These are large gummis. They’re easily an inch and a half long. They’re skulls with the top half red and the bottom black. It’s raspberry/licorice flavor combination. The chew is very dense and stick, and it’s hard to eat at first. The licorice part is salty, to my surprise. You really taste the salt over the licorice and raspberry flavors. It’s disappointing since I love liquorice but the salt really dominates too much. A nice candy if you’re into that though.

Swedish Fish “The original”: The green fist tastes a generic fruity flavor at first, then I get hints of lime and pineapple. The chew is wonderful dense and thick, and isn’t too sticky so it’s easy to work with. Yellow tastes like lemon right from the start. It’s zesty, sweet, with a nice tart edge to it. Orange starts off with this strange artificial flavor similar to floor cleaner. It’s floral and bitter. I taste some notes of orange in there, but the “fake” note to it just makes it taste too chemical for me. Red is very fruity, like a mix between strawberries and raspberries. Light, sweet and refreshing.

Stora colaflaskor “Big cola bottles that are chewy & sweet” Thew chew on these is much softer and chewier. It’s a nice relief from the harder gummis. The flavor is a very mild, very flavorful cola. Complete with good accents of spice and fizz, with a rounded molasses edge to it. it’s very nice, It’s sweet and flavorful. I really liked these.

Sura körsbär “Sura körsbär is basically sour cherry’s, Now this one is one of the best sour candies that I have ever eaten, it’s a promise!”: They’re right. these are pretty awesome. They’re large gummis, and they have a very dense and compact sanding of sour sugar on them. The chew is very dense. You do have to work it some to take a piece off. The flavor is immediately sour, and it’s a nice, intense sour too. It really sits you upright in your chair, as so tp speak. The flavor is very cherry, but a bright, fruity cherry and not a thick and syrupy cherry from a medicine bottle. The gummi becomes sweet once the sugar coating wear off, and it becomes sticky to chew. I really enjoyed these.

Zoo “This one is a must in your candy bag, one of Malaco’s best sweets!” These candies are small and look like sitting moneys. So no wonder they’re called “zoo”. The texture is very plastic-y, I’m reminded of Twizzlers, but denser. The flavor is like a nice red candy strawberry. Notes of berries, but more of a “red” flavor really. Tasty, I really liked them.

Cocobat “Cocobat is mint coco with licorice” The texture of these is quite dense. It took some chewing to get them going. The inside is way more flavorful than the outside. You immediately taste the cream once you chew through the licorice exterior. it tastes…sweet? It’s hard to lay a finger on the flavors since this candy is really more about texture to me. I tired the other colored licorice tube (the ones with the green) and it tasted fruity to me. Tasty for sure!

Djungelvrål “These jungle ape’s are salt lakrits that turn sweet. Swedish licorice that top’s the list” These are very salty to start. Very salty, so they were hard for me to eat at first. Once the salt melts away you get a flavor of a nice herbal licorice with notes of anise and molasses. The chew is dense and sticky and I had to pick a lot out of my teeth. Still, for salty licorice, I liked it. The salty part will take some getting used to, but the licorice itself is very tasty.

Punschpraliner “is a swedish classic! Punch cream covered with chocolate and sprinkles.” These look like squat gumdrop sized Nestle Snowcaps: chocolate coating with white non pariels. They smell rich and sweet of the chocolate. The texture is soft and chewy and smooth from the chocolate. You get a slight crunch from the sprinkles. The flavor is very complex with notes of vanilla, butter and rum. It reminds me of rum raisins in a way, it’s a very buttery flavor. Tasty, unique.

I really enjoyed trying all these candies from Sweden. It’s rare to get some a taste of another country without actually going there yourself. It was interesting to see a pattern with the candies styles and flavors, and I felt it gave me a sense of Sweden’s candy sensibilities. The seems to love red fruit flavors, and they’re also a big fan of licorice. Both things I understand! If I had to choose a favorite it’d be the Sura körsbär. I’m usually not a fan of sour candies but these are so awesome and tasty! I extend a huge thanks to Ingrid’s Candy shop for letting me try these amazing sweets.

I love gummi pumpkins! They’re pretty tasty and come October, there’s so many varieties to choose from. I tend to prefer the ones with the granulated sugar coating on them, as I really like that texture. What lured me into these gummis that I found in Cost Plus World market was the fact it’s a mix of black (ish) and orange pumpkins. Something new, horray!

So, from looking at the package, it’s difficult to say who made these gummi pumpkins for Coat Plus World Market, since they’re packaged completely in their branded packaging. I have a inkling they’re the Juju Pumpkins that Zachary Confections makes. Still I’m sure there’s other manufacturers out there out there that I am unaware of.

These pumpkins are attractive to look at. The colors are vibrant and pretty. The back, upon closer inspection, is actually a dark purple. The pieces are well formed and have nice fluting on them like real pumpkins. They’re a nice size too, not too big and not small. I’d say around the size of a large gumdrop.

The grape pumpkin tastes like concord grapes. It’s thick and juicy with rich notes of grape and raspberry. I’m reminded of a mixture of concord grape juice and grape cough medicine, but in a good way.

The orange pumpkin is, of course, orange flavored. It’s bright and orangy, and reminds me of the Brach’s orange slices. The flavor is sweet and there’s no hint of tartness at all. Fun and tasty.

I really liked these, and they’re a fun “stand in” until I find the ones with the sugar coating. I prefer the orange ones to the grape flavor, which in a way makes this package hard for me to pick through since I go after all the orange ones first. I’m sure these would look super nice as decorations in a candy bowl or on top of cupcakes!